Matcha whisking help

Okay, I’m extremely new to matcha and want very much to get good at whisking it…but so far, I absolutely stink. I can manage to get it whisked well enough that there’s no leftover clumps or anything, but I cannot seem to manage foam. I get a dark green liquid with a few bubbles around the edges, that’s it!

How do I whisk it to get the nice, even foam on top with no big bubbles? And how long can I risk whisking it for before it gets incredibly bitter?

I submerge the wisk into the water/matcha mixture (2 oz. warmed water to 1 to 1.5 tsp. of matcha), then turn it on. If you raise it out of the mixture, then it flies everywhere – it’s happened to me too. I’ve found using a bowl or mug/cup with high sides helps keep it from getting too messy.

But I think in order to get the froth you’re looking for, you do need to bring it up to the surface (but not completely out of) the mixture to incorporate air into it, which creates the froth. I usually wisk for 30 to 45 seconds.

I’m using a teaspoon per 4oz of water, so I think so. I’m wondering if I am just not getting enough wrist motion (I do have carpal tunnel) or if I am holding the whisk wrong. I was told not to scrape the whisk on the bottom of the bowl, but it seems even harder to get foam if I raise the whisk. So…I’m confused.

I use a chashaku to measure out matcha. Not sure how much it measures but I use 2 scoops for a small amount of water. If you are whisking pretty briskly than maybe try adding more matcha and see if that does the trick. The whisk should be held so that it is vertical. Whisk back and forth as fast as you can and when done lift from the center of the bowl. I would say it takes about 20ish seconds to whisk. Also, are you sifting your matcha?

One of my problems is that I want to get better at this for my new job, so I can’t actually change the amount of water or matcha I use; it’s gotta be standardized. At home is obviously a different story, and I’m free to mess around there.

Guess I was wondering if there is some wonderful wrist flick or something that I’m not catching on to, because my coworkers can do it no problem. Of course, they’ve had way more practice than me.